The Honorable Ones
by Y St. Ace
Summary: "Zu is an honorable man. Not a good man, perhaps, but an honorable one." Hui and Zu met long before the events of Jade Empire. This is that story. Chapter 4 and 5 up!
1. Prologue

Prologue

The wind was alive up here. Yesterday it had sang softly and danced across the drifts, but today it was angry. It was screaming and pushing at anyone that dared to go outside.

The wind sheared through Hui's winter hunting leathers, but she did not have the luxury of seeking shelter. She kept her eyes in front of her, following the faint footprints that threatened to be blown clean if she did not move quickly.

Xian Wu did not know she was being followed. The monk only knew that there were some very sociable merchants who had been trapped in the village below Dirge. She only knew that they liked to dice and they found her interesting. She only knew that they encouraged her in flights of fancy and dreams of the riches of the Empire.

She did not know that they were hand-picked Imperial scouts sent to gather information on Dirge and its surrounding areas. Some were spies, some were scouts like Hui. They were here to determine the lay of the land and of the people.

Hui came to a small rocky incline, spotted with Xian Wu's prints, and then realized the trail had stopped at the rock face. She looked up and saw the corner of the Temple high above her. Xian Wu was gone.

Hui smiled behind her face mask. She had found what the Glorious Strategist needed.


	2. Chapter 1

"Kneel!" Ten thousand soldiers and monks dropped to their knees while the three brothers observed on the dais, high above their massed army. The last piece of armor crashed to the dry, dusty courtyard and silence - and the Suns - reigned.

Their name was not a name revered in this time of drought and death. The sun was not welcomed in the spring anymore because it only heralded more of the same - summers of little rain and much pain.

At first, death had only come to peasants on the poorer farms, the ones that had not had the money or wisdom to save grain from each harvest. More fell as the drought consumed streams, then entire rivers. As grain withered, animals had died. Food became scarce and the countryside became restless.

The Emperor had opened the Imperial granaries, but hand-outs could only go so far. Hundreds of thousands had just died in the riots in Phoenix Gate. Then the Emperor had declared there would be no more death from drought.

The sycophants in the court thought that the Emperor was petitioning the Water Dragon for her help at her temple at Dirge. The Army did not question orders; they assumed they were needed because they were ordered to be here. The people, the peasants, did not even know there was a mission.

Only the members of Zu's Order knew the truth; the monks at Dirge had set themselves against the Empire and the Order of Heaven by denying water to the people and the land. The entire force of the Empire had massed to correct this insult against the order of nature.

Sun Kin, the Hand of Heaven, stood on the Emperor's left, dressed in the formal robes of a Lotus Monk. He was younger than his brothers and he looked the innocent with his open, oft-smiling face, but Zu had seen him spar before and the prince was viper-quick and tiger-strong with double sabers.

The Glorious Strategist was on the Emperor's right. It must have been sweltering under the black armor and helmet, but the prince stood tall under his regalia. It was said there was no better mind in the entire Empire and that the prince could plan around an attack before it was even thought of. Certainly the Lotus Monks admired the man; his armor inspired a fear in his enemies that bore no equal.

Yet it was the Emperor that commanded his attention. When Sun Hai stepped forward, Zu felt himself and his brethern drawn towards him. Even during this long drought, the Lotus Monks would never turn away from him.

On the dais, an elderly abbot in religious rainment blessed their rulers, the ranks and their purpose. Zu could not hear the words of the ceremony and his gaze went back to Sun Kin. Zu would not - could never - question the Hand of Heaven, but he wished he could speak to his leader so that he could understand the reasoning behind his assignment. To stay behind to guard women and children seemed a penalty for a crime he did not remember perpetrating.

The ceremony was short. When the abbot was done, the three brothers left the dais and an official stepped forward and bellowed, "Rise!"

And with that, the Imperial Army went to war.

Commanders, subcommanders and lieutenants shouted parched instructions to their soldiers and each other, but Zu had received his orders before the convocation. He separated himself from the throng, slipped in between two guard houses, and walked through the dusty courtyard, past oxen roaring stubbornly as they bore crates of weapons to and from the supply warehouses.

Green soldiers stepped quickly out of his way as he walked by. The new ones were often told that the red-dipped arms of the Lotus Monks had been bathed in blood. In truth it was only dye, but they did not know that, nor did they need to. Fear was one of the many weapons wielded by his Order.

He nodded at his brothers standing guard at their commander's tent and went inside.

"Your servant." He went to one knee, but he did not drop his eyes. Lotus Monks never stopped watching.

His commander, Jian, looked up from the scrolls. It had only been a few months since the man had sent him out on his first testing mission. Zu now wondered if he had performed as well as he'd thought. Perhaps not, if he was being left behind on this glorious day.

Jian stared at Zu for some time before saying, "You think you are being punished. You believe you should be with the Emperor on this campaign. Do not deny it."

He would not lie, so he bowed his head slightly.

"That is typical of youth. They believe that they can fathom every thought their elders have - and understand every plan their elders make." His commander put the scrolls aside "That is what the Glorious Strategist hopes in any case. That kind of discontent will hand us Dirge."

Jian motioned for him to stand and continued. "Only a fool would try to attack the Palace, but this is a time of fools. The Palace and the Imperial Family cannot be left unguarded. For this reason, I, by order of the Hand of Heaven, am leaving you in charge of the remaining Lotus Monks," Jian said. "You will be our Order's representative in the Palace and in the Capital. All will report to you."

Zu, who had schooled his reactions most carefully since becoming a Monk, could not contain his astonishment. "Sir?"

His commander stroked his white beard. "So you wish to hear your praises."

"Never, sir."

"Members of our Order are questioning this assault on Dirge and there are other worthless fools that still dare to second guess our Emperor. You will quell their dissent." He looked at Zu hard. "You are uncompromising. You do not flinch from the harshest duty. Now go. I will expect a whole and happy Empire when we return."

Dust clouds rose and fell with each step Hui took across the courtyard, but she could still feel the bone-chill from the winds at Dirge through her armor. A part of her kept waiting for each exhaled breath to freeze in front of her.

The men standing guard at the Prince's courtyard looked like they were picked solely for how impressive they looked while standing at attention. She wondered if they had ever been blooded in direct battle, or slit a man's throat from behind.

"Hui, here on orders."

Hui endured each formality like a cook endured the peeling of an onion.. With each pass-off, the officer became more dismissive, wore more impressive armor, and looked at her with more scorn. She had done this too many times now to feel intimidated by them.

Finally she stood outside his door. The guard announced her loudly and pulled back the screen for her. She stepped inside and immediately went to one knee, directed her gaze at the floor.

"Hui, your commander has given me a full report of what you accomplished at Dirge." The Prince bid her to rise and to approach. "It seems you may have found us a way to win a campaign."

She said nothing, did nothing, though she wanted to grin madly at the high praise he had given her.

He had maps laid out on his desks; some very old, some with ink that was still fresh. He reviewed the path to the Temple with her, going over the route on a map and determining the areas most likely to be in danger from ice or avalanche. They went over it until he had every footstep memorized.

Then the Prince made her repeat every detail she could about Xian Wu. Under his interrogation, she remembered details she had not realized she had observed. Then he folded his hands and stared at the map again.

Hui was glad for the break. She felt like he had pulled all of her knowledge from her head with hot tongs. She was starting to feel the days spent near Dirge catching up with her.

Sun Li looked somewhere beyond her, the wheels turning in his mind. "This is good. From what you have told me of Xian Wu, I do not think that we will need to use the path ourselves. She will use it for us."

"Now I have a more difficult mission for you." He looked at her carefully and she straightened up, trying to appear as capable and as alert as she imagined she might need to be. "I need you to stay here."

Words of disbelief escaped her before she could quell them. He ignored her. "You will take over duties from the Imperial guards that will be escorting the Emperor and you will fulfill those duties until you receive new orders."

That meant, in Army parlance, that she would be standing at attention in a dark corner until further notice. She fought the impulse to argue.

He appeared to take some humor from her internal struggle. "Hui, you are an impossibly good soldier, which is why I will need you here."

"I am yours to command," she said simply.

He looked at her for a long moment before saying, "I believe you are, Hui." Then he dismissed her.


	3. Chapter 2

Hui would have rather been in the field with the irregulars, the scouts and frontmen, where she could wear what was functional. The official Imperial armor jingled like bells on a dancer's slippers.

She also would have rather been in the field because she would not constantly be shadowed. Lotus Shadows they should be called was the general consensus among the other soldiers in the palace.

"They never sleep, you know," said Huan. "It's why they're so ill-tempered and so ... cadaverous."

They were sitting at a low table in a corner of one of the Imperial kitchens. From what Hui had learned, there were different kitchens to feed the different members of the staff and the different members of court. The best kitchen was reserved for the Imperial family, of course. She had no idea where it was.

Here it was only a line of ill-tempered cooks who were allowed to steam rice and sear meat for soldiers. It was hot all the time and the food was plain, but there was lots of it. She looked at her bowl and grimaced. If she kept up this schedule of eating and standing and eating some more, she was going to get fat.

"And I guess they don't eat either?" she asked. The Imperial Army did not share a kitchen with the Monks, so they were freer with their jokes than they were anywhere else.

Huan laughed and pointed his chopsticks at her. "Of course they do. Succulent babies. The hearts of their enemies. That kind of thing."

Hui smiled. She wasn't a laugher, not like Huan.

After her meal, Hui reported to her post outside the empty halls in the northern corner of the palace. The rooms were dark and dusty, but there had to be guards here in any case. In fact, it would be the perfect place for someone to enter. Some of these rooms were big enough to hide armies inside.

Hui nodded at the guard she was relieving, who went to get his food. As he jingled his way down the long hall, she fell into her spot, a shadow in the corner, and began watching nothing.

* * *

Courtiers and sycophants scurried away as Zu approached. Their very presence in the Imperial Palace diminished its glory and he took pleasure in their fear.

When he was certain that the outer chambers were cleared, he went further into the rooms of the Imperial family. The presence of the Imperial guards were thick here and though he looked carefully for any laxity, the soldiers here were alert and ready. He was pleased, but he did not relax. He could not afford the luxury.

He went to the quarters of the Grace of Heaven, one of the most heavily guarded wings of the palace. Sun Zhen was being guarded not only from outside dangers, but those within. She was confined to her rooms on orders of her husband, Sun Li.

In the last few days of Empress Sun Xui's pregnancy, she had contracted the drought fever and had died after giving birth to the Heavenly Lily. The Glorious Strategist was not going to allow his wife to follow that path.

And yet here Princess Sun Zhen was, flouting the orders of her husband, and because she was of the highest rank, none of her courtiers could reprimand her.

She was a pool of serenity in the midst of her ladies in waiting. The women flitted to and fro, adjusting her gown, holding her hand, making certain that there was nothing on the floor that could trip her. She moved throughout it all, ignoring them, never faltering, with an indulgent half-smile on her mouth.

She noticed him and stopped, causing the women around her to hush.

"Walk with me, Lotus Monk," she said. "At least one of us should enjoy the pleasure of walking and perhaps my ladies will find you fearsome enough to grant me some peace." The last words were directed to the women who surrounded her, who bowed but did not step back.

He began to decline, but she interrupted him.

"If I am not safe with a Lotus Monk, then I am safe nowhere," she said brightly. She reached out and took his arm to support herself. This was highly improper, but he could not contravene the Grace of Heaven, not unless she was acting against the will of the Emperor.

Sun Li would not be happy either, but he was not Sun Li's servant.

She flicked her wrist, her sleeve floating around her, and the women dropped back.

"Has there been news from Dirge?" she asked quietly. This was not a question she should have been directing to him, and she sensed his hesitancy. "My husband's advisors couch their words in riddles for fear of a woman's reaction and how it may harm an Imperial heir. I do not have the patience to unravel their webs of words."

Her perfume was overwhelming. "There has been no news, but that is not alarming."

"I see." She touched her stomach. "I hope that my husband is" - and she stopped short, as she had recognized the impropriety of what she was about to say - "I hope the Emperor and his brothers are victorious."

"With the Heavens guiding their steps, there is no question of their triumph."

She did not smile with her mouth, but her eyes glinted with humor. "Spoken like a true Lotus Monk. I would have a favor of you then."

This was beyond impropriety and he reminded her of it when he answered. "I follow orders, Your Highness. Give me an order."

"Which is why I ask as a favor. Favors aren't orders and you might be able to follow your Emperor and help me too." She stopped, faced him, and took his hand in hers. "I ask that you allow me to move my quarters. I want to look at the north."

It was an unlucky direction for a woman about to give birth; that was the direction Death came from. It was customary for a princess to have her rooms facing the east or south, facing the sun or the rains. But Dirge and her husband were in the North. "Princess - "

He could see the worry in her eyes. "Just allow me a view. Please."

"I can give you no promises."

"That is enough for me." She let go of his arm and motioned for her women to attend her again. "That will be all, Lotus Monk."

She walked away, a moment of peace in the midst of chaos. Zu left, so that he could change the positioning of the guards to protect the wandering princess and so that he could think about her request.


	4. Chapter 3

Hui knew commotion was coming before it happened. Lotus Monks moved in the shadows, eyeing her quickly then passing her over again as they searched for spies and ghosts in the old halls. More than one monk meant that something important would be happening, so she made sure to have her armor polished well and to control the look of boredom that she knew sometimes crept across her face like a spider.

Then there was nothing but the hot dry air coursing through the dusty halls and the lazy buzzing of flies.

Today was difficult. There was something about today that made Hui want to yawn. Her staff was more of a support than a weapon of war and it was taking all her effort not to open her mouth and let her boredom out in one long exhalation.

Her stomach dropped when she saw a monk walking down the hall. It could have been close.

She watched him out of the corner of her eye. He seemed younger than the others that had padded silently across the marble floors, not all the color had drained out of his face, turning him into a cadaver. She didn't want to imagine what he might have done if he'd seen her with her mouth open and eyes shut, giving into a glorious yawn. No doubt cut her tongue out for her and shut her eyes permanently. The Monks were very serious about duty.

Her stomach, which had been working its way up from her knees, fell to her feet when he approached her.

He spoke to her without bowing or introducing himself. "I was told you were assigned your station by Prince Li himself, Hui."

She didn't wonder how he knew her name; he probably knew many things about her if he'd been inclined to investigate. Even though he appeared young, he would not have been a monk if he were weak, either physically or mentally, so she answered as respectfully as possible without sounding craven. "That is correct."

"So it is a punishment?"

Hui wanted to ask if him being here was his punishment, but chose the wiser reply. "I do not know. It is my duty to obey my commanders, not question them."

Something flashed in his eyes and his next words were less icy. "I was told you were called Hui the Brave."

She said nothing and he added, "You will need your bravery. The Princess Sun Zhen is moving her household into these quarters. I advise you to prepare yourself."

Hui laughed at the dry humor before she could stop herself. He did not say anything and left her hall, but Hui was sure she had seen a quick half-smile cross his lips. She did not know if it was a good omen to have amused a monk. Their sense of humor could be quite dark.

* * *

Zu had thought long about Princess Sun Zhen's request and decided that there was no harm in allowing her to move her quarters to the northern end of the palace. He'd relayed his decision to her through proper channels, but still she flouted convention and had sent him a gift.

The knife was old but it was crafted well. In fact, he had not seen metalwork like it ever before. It was not a ceremonial piece either. There were no jewels on it or gold, but there was intricate artwork in the hilt that did not make the grip uncomfortable. It was also very sharp.

It was absolutely inappropriate, but Zu could not deny that it was beautiful.

Another monk appeared in the doorway. "Zu."

He put the knife back in its sheath. "Yes?"

"We've received word that the Imperial Army is at the base of the mountains. They believe they will be at the gates of Dirge within two weeks." The man dismissed himself.

Zu's face was impassive, but his thoughts were impatient. The Spirit Monks resisted the will of the Empire well enough that a simple squadron of fliers was not enough to quell their insolence. It had been tried before and with no avail. The rumor was that they wielded the powers of the dead and were backed by a Goddess incarnate, but Zu imagined it had more to do with knowing the terrain better than the enemy and being trained extremely well.

That is why the entire Army was required to crush them and armies did not move quickly. Whoever was estimating two weeks was an optimistic person.

On the other hand, it was news. He would make sure that the princess found out, but it would be through secret channels that were impossible to follow back to him. Perhaps she would learn something of discretion. Zu doubted it.


	5. Chapter 4

Before any bodyservant or guard that was not assigned to the princess' regular retinue could enter her apartments with whatever item they were carrying, Hui stopped them, checked them for weapons, and then examined the item for weapons. It was slowing the move considerably and frustrating the will of the princess. She could feel the princess's eyes boring into the back of her head, but she had a duty to Zhen's husband, not Zhen herself.

The two palace guards assigned to this duty were starting to grow uneasy, glancing over their shoulders at the woman who was obviously impatient and definitely royal, but Hui ignored them.

"You've already checked him," the princess said suddenly, as Hui searched the man who was on his third trip from the other edge of the palace.

"Yes, I have, Your Highness," she replied. "And I will search him each time until this move is complete."

"This is ridiculous," the princess muttered, not unlike Hui's sister had muttered whenever she was exasperated.

"I apologize, Your Highness," she said as she picked through the basket filled with what appeared to be only silk scarves. "But these are my orders."

"And who gave you these orders?" the princess asked coldly.

"A Lotus Monk, Your Highness," Hui replied, waving for the man to go ahead with his burden. She hoped that mentioning Zu's title would inspire some kind of respect, if not for Hui herself, but at least for the position Hui was now in. She could either listen to royalty or listen to the man who represented the Emperor and probably killed for sport. Surely the princess wouldn't make her choose -

"I see. Then I will have to speak to him about that," Zhen said. She whispered a few choice orders to a lady in waiting, who then ran off like a demon was chasing her.

The princess crossed her hands over her ample belly and looked at the floor but there was no mistaking the cat's smile at the edge of her mouth.

Hui caught the looks of terror passing over the guards' faces. She hadn't thought that the princess knew the man and certainly not that she was comfortable enough to consult with him!

She wondered how long she'd stay in the stockade or if she would even make it there at all.

The silence in the hallway went on for over ten minutes and Hui could barely control her feelings. She pasted her best 'bored soldier' look on her face, but her mind went over the very real punishments that might be in store for her.

Sun Zhen was still keeping her eyes demurely on the floor and her smile of triumph had turned into one of contemplation as her fingers touched her stomach. Hui took the opportunity to study the princess. She was beautiful and usually looked serene, but she could not keep the flash of spirit out of her eyes all the time. Perhaps that would be seen as a black mark in some other marriages, but it was quite well-known that Prince Li did not have any concubines, even though he was entitled to them.

She was forced to consider the possibility that the princess and her commander were quite happy.

Her study was cut short when she noticed a few men coming down the hallway. The princess looked up, smiling her sharper smile again. "Monk Zu, we were – "

But Hui had been standing in a corner for days now and she'd had opportunities to see faces, to study bodies. These men did not move like monks and they did not jingle like soldiers. "Your Imperial Highness, go inside your apartments."

"What is the – "

"Now!" Hui ordered the guards to drag the woman in by her hair if she did not move herself. Perhaps it was the outrageousness of it all or how she hefted her spear, but Sun Zhen moved – or was moved - swiftly into the apartments and she heard the bar falling behind the doors, locking everyone inside.

She realized that she was quite alone with her enemies. She also realized that while she was quite skilled at taking on more than three men, she normally did so as a scout, on the eve of battle, under cover of darkness. She was not at all familiar with close quarters fighting in her duty armor.

She hefted her spear again; she had overestimated herself but there wasn't much she could do about it now. She had one comforting thought. Her subordinates would keep moving the princess further in to the apartments, barring doors behind them. Those doors, old as the Imperial Palace and made of wood from trees as tough as iron, would keep them safe.

Or so she thought. One of the masked attackers dropped to her knees twenty paces in front of her and Hui smelled sulfur. She dove to her right just before the rocket roared past her and into the doors.

She had not dropped her staff and brought it up just as a sabre came at her head. She swept her attacker's legs out from underneath him, but she had no leverage to strike him properly and he was getting up…


	6. Chapter 5

Zu felt that he controlled his impatience quite well, but men and women fairly threw themselves out of his way as he stalked through the hallways of the palace. He never should have allowed this move if only because it was causing him annoyance. Princess Zhen was royalty and his duty was to protect her, but he couldn't do his duty if she was calling him like some seneschal to sort out a ridiculous moving issue.

She was going to be surprised when she found out that he had indeed given the orders she was so angry about.

It took him a moment to realize something was wrong. Two lamps were out, darkening the hallway ahead of him. Then he heard a sound that should never be heard in the palace and the dull sound of metal on wood.

Zu was, for one second, indecisive, but he decided that if he could not handle this himself then it would already be too late.

* * *

Hui did not know whether to thank the armor she wore or curse it. If she were not wearing it, she would be dead from cuts and blows. If she were not wearing it, she would not be moving so slow and receiving those cuts and blows in the first place.

The three assassins were now just two. She had to make sure that neither of them could light the second rocket. One more explosion would take down the doors and once they were in the apartments – she did not want to think about what might happen then.

The man in front of her was not letting her get around him. She was barely parrying his sword with her spear and, at this rate, it would be cut to pieces before his sword edge was dulled. Her arm ached where the armor had stoved in around one of his blows and she wished she had not snuck off from practice so many times – she was just not used to this armored weight.

Beyond the second assassin, who was fumbling with fire while trying to light her weapon, she saw another figure coming towards them. He or she did not shout, so the person could not be a guard or soldier. Hui despaired; she could not defeat three of them!

But this one wore shadows and moved on soundless feet and it did not assist his companions. Instead it came silently and swiftly towards the woman, who had just managed a spark on flint and the fuse…

Hui barely deflected his strike to her head; the sharp edge glanced off her spear but smacked her in the helmet and knocked her to one knee. Her enemy then yelled, "Behind you!" warning his associate.

The assassin turned on instinct with the rocket in her arms and aimed it for the monk's body.

Hui tossed her spear at the woman who had to twist out of the way to save herself from being skewered. The rocket hit the wall, throwing stone and plaster everywhere, but sparing the monk his life. The spear clattered harmlessly to the floor, but the monk took it up and with one thrust had it in the woman's throat.

Hui was now without a weapon. But she had something no other soldier had and she used it against this intruder, this man who thought he could come into the palace and sow chaos on her watch. In an instant, the man paled, folded at the knees, and collapsed on the floor.

The monk came over to her and offered her the spear. He was not even breathing hard. "What technique was that? I have not seen it before."

She, on the other hand, was and removed her helmet. She wiped her forehead with the red kerchief she always wore under her helmet to keep the metal from digging into her skin. "I was sworn not to tell or teach it to anyone."

"And why's that?" he asked.

She shrugged, putting her helmet back on her head. "It wasn't my place to ask."

The monk's eyes widened for a moment and she knew he understood that she was not the wide-eyed peasant he'd thought she was. Yes, even huntsmen's daughters could have honor - and secrets. "This one is alive by the way. That technique doesn't kill, just weakens."

The monk's eyes narrowed as he considered the man at their feet. "That will be useful."

Sun Zhen emerged from her rooms, pushing past her guards and the grasping hands of ladies in waiting that were too cowed by the princess and afraid of hurting the heir. "What is this?"

Hui was not cowed by anyone's pregnancy. "Your Highness, you will return to your rooms with your guards until these halls are cleared."

"I demand to know - "

"Your Highness, there is blood everywhere." And that was all Hui needed to say. There were superstitions about blood spilled near an unborn child. They were usually ignored, but these were superstitious times now.

The princess retreated into her rooms but not without adding, "I expect an explanation as soon as you are free, Monk Zu."

Zu, she thought, and she wondered if Zu liked to make examples.


End file.
